New York City Bike Accident Lawyer

Were You Or A Loved One Involved In A Bike Accident?

New York is one of the greatest cities in the world. It’s also one of the largest! This means a lot of cars, pedestrians, and bikes or bicycles move throughout our streets and roadways every single day. If you or a loved one enjoy bike riding for recreational purposes, use your bike or Citi bike to get to and from work or simply just to get around the city, there’s always a chance you may be involved in an accident or an incident at some point.

The sad reality is that everyone in New York is in a rush, aren’t paying attention and worst of all completely disregard and disrespect bicyclists and the bike lanes on New York, Manhattan and NYC streets and roadways. No matter how careful you may be, no matter what lengths you go to in order to protect yourself, wearing your helmet, knee and elbow pads, reflective lighting, if you have been involved in an accident while riding your bicycle, you may face serious and permanent injuries.

Bike Accidents:

• Incidents involving bikes or bicycles aren’t a rare occurrence! In fact: in the first 28 days of 2019, there were 14,538 reported collisions across the city.
• Traffic-related fatalities for cyclists were up 70% to start 2019 when compared to statistics from the previous year
• The New York Police Department (NYPD) alone writes over 1,000,000 moving violations on average per year. This means pedestrians and bicyclists are regularly at risk of being involved in an accident on the city streets and roadways.

Bike Accidents Can Be Caused By:

• Careless drivers
• Careless truck drivers
• Illegally parked vehicles
• Opening of car and truck doors
• Delivery vehicles
• Potholes
• Pedestrians
• City Maintenance/Street/Bike Path Issues
• Falling Debris
• Vehicles in the Bike lane
• Illegal U-Turns
• Inattentive drivers and pedestrians
• Bike messenger or delivery crashes
• Hit and Run cases

Bike Safety:

This is also why it’s important for you as a bicyclist to do the following to prepare for that careless, inattentive and disrespectful motorist:

• Be mindful of traffic
• Obey traffic signs
• Wear a helmet
• Use knee and elbow pads
• Wear a reflective vest from dusk
• Use reflective lights on your bike
• BE VIGILANT!

What do I do if I am involved in an accident?

If you have been injured in a bike accident, the most important thing is to call the police and EMS and get the medical treatment you need, whether that’s from the emergency room of a nearby hospital or a nearby urgent care facility. The last thing most people think of when they have been injured is what should I do if I later bring a lawsuit but if you have been involved in a bike accident, below is a list of tips for what you should do:

• Call the police ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!
• Tell the police exactly what happened
• Determine if there are any witnesses
• Do not admit fault or even say Sorry to the other driver(s)
• Obtain the insurance information and license plate number of the vehicle(s) involved in the accident
• Take pictures of the damage done to you, your bike and the other vehicle(s) involved
• Obtain their information
• Document everything
• Seek medical attention immediately
• Contact the Bike Accident lawyers’ at The Law Office of Darren T. Moore P.C.
• Provide medical staff with your correct name, address, and facts relating to your accident
• Make sure that you inform the EMS personnel and the staff at the ER/Medical facility of all ailments, not just the one that hurts the most at that time

What does the law firm do for me if I am in a Bike accident?

• Conduct an In-Depth Intake and Investigation into your accident
• File a Notice of Claim if a City or Municipal vehicle was involved
• File a No-Fault application – MUST BE DONE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE ACCIDENT – detailed below
• Obtain the owner and operators information and insurance details of the vehicle(s) involved in your accident
• Use high-tech accident reconstruction experts and video animation where required
• Obtain medical documents, records and speak with your medical experts
• Handle all aspects of complex litigation including depositions and trials with the help, guidance and assistance of the bike accident attorneys’ at the Law Offices of Darren Moore.
• Evaluate your claim
• Identify if there are any other avenues of liability such as negligent roadway design cases or roadway defects
• Investigate your claim which may include having an investigator obtain witness statements and pictures of the vehicles involved and the accident location
• Keep client constantly informed of the process

NO-FAULT INSURANCE FOR BIKE ACCIDENTS

New York State including Manhattan, NYC and the outer boroughs all follow the no-fault insurance system. Our bike accident lawyers specialize in bike accident cases throughout New York, Manhattan, NYC. What is crucial to note is that if you were struck by a vehicle, you as the bicyclist may apply for no-fault or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits meaning all of your hospital bills, medical bills, and other related expenses up to a maximum of $50,000 will be paid by the insurance company for the vehicle or truck that struck you. PLEASE NOTE that you must file that application within 30 days of your accident. Again this is where an experienced bike accident law firm will take over and take care of this for you.

In addition, where you have sustained a serious injury as a result of a bike accident you can also bring an action for compensation against the offending driver(s).

WHAT types of compensation can I recover in a car accident?

Known as the damages portion of a case it’s important that clients know what they are entitled to when they start a lawsuit for their injuries. In New York, you are entitled to claim for the following damages:

• Pain and Suffering – Physical and Emotional
• Past and Future Medical Expenses
• Past and Future Loss of Wages, Earnings and Benefits
• Punitive Damages in certain situations – such as drink driving situations

Each item of damages needs to be dealt with separately and specifically and involves in many cases the hiring of experts in the medical and financial professions such as economists, life care planners, and vocational rehabilitation experts so as to calculate accurately how much money is needed to fully and adequately compensate an injured person not just presently but taking into account future factors such as inflation. The Law Offices of Darren T. Moore provides the best bike accident lawyers to make sure that each client gets the representation that they not only need, but deserve.

WHAT IF AN INSURANCE COMPANY CONTACTS ME AFTER MY ACCIDENT?

You should very politely, but very sternly, direct them to speak with your personal injury attorney. They will understand, they know they are not really there for you. If you have not yet retained legal counsel, it is vital that you do not sign anything or give any recorded statements. Doing so can void your legal right to financial compensation.